Biology is an extremely exciting subject, however, not all of us have access to state-of-the-art lab equipment to do biology experiments. Luckily for us, it is possible to do some experiments within the comfort of our own homes.
Here is a list of 3 easy biology experiments you can do at home.
Extract your own DNA
It very easy to extract your own DNA using everyday kitchen supplies. You can even extract the DNA of any fruit or vegetable you desire, but I think looking at your own molecular blueprint is much cooler.
Equipment
- A clean shot glass
- Saliva
- Dish Soap
- Table Salt
- Pineapple Juice (or cleaning solution for contact lenses)
- Chilled alcohol (120 proof or higher)
- Drinking Straw
- Toothpick
Instructions
- Take your DNA sample by spitting into the shot glass until it is a quarter full of your saliva.
- Add a few drops of dish soap to lyse the cells (break them open).
- Add a tiny splash of pineapple juice. This cleans up some of the proteins that have spilled out of your cells alongside your DNA.
- Add a pinch of salt. This causes the DNA to start clumping together.
- Swirl the shot glass to mix the ingredients.
- Gently fill the rest of the shot glass with high-proof alcohol, which should sit in a layer on top of the mixture. To prevent it from mixing too much, you can add the alcohol gradually using a drinking straw: Put the straw into the alcohol, cap it with your finger, hold the straw over the liquid in the shot glass and then release your finger.
- Use a toothpick to spool up the cloudy, snot-like material that has formed in the glass. This is your DNA!
If you fancy taking it a step further you can even analyze your extracted DNA, although this step can be a bit expensive. Equipment for electrophoresis, a technique used to separate DNA molecules according to their size can be bought here.
Culture Bacteria on Homemade Agar
Microorganisms such as bacteria and yeast live all around us. It is very easy to prepare culture medium at home and then collect samples from different places to find out what microorganisms are chilling in your home.
Equipment
- 250ml/1cup boiled water
- 2 pouches of gelatin
- 1 low sodium beef bouillon cube
- 2tsp. sugar
- Mixing bowl
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Petri dishes
- Cotton swabs
Method
To prepare the medium:
- Put all your ingredients into your bowl, and add your boiled water.
- Mix until everything has dissolved.
- Add your medium to Petri dishes.
- Set petri dishes in fridge overnight to set.
Collect your samples:
- Use separate cotton swabs to take samples, such as from inside your mouth or from money.
- Then gently rub the cotton swab with the sample onto your petri dish (using separate Petri dishes for each sample).
- Leave the samples to grow, checking them daily.
- After a couple days you should see colonies start to grow.
- For optimal growth leave your samples in a warm humid place to encourage bacteria growth.
If you're feeling artistic you can even make agar art by making use of different bacteria strains colors to make your own living, growing pictures.
Make a Bioluminescent Lamp
Some microorganisms have an amazing ability to generate light by themselves. When enough of them gather, they even make whole beaches grow at night. We luckily live in a day and age where we can buy these microorganisms online and have them delivered to our doorstep.
Bioluminescent organisms can live for several months given the right conditions. Some of these conditions include getting sufficient sunlight during the day to recharge their ability to glow. At night they will start producing light when you shake them up.
You can even experiment with different conditions and play with their ability to make light. Some people have even introduced them into a closed fountain, where they're constantly shaken and glowing.
A company called PyroFarms even sell kits that allow you to make your own bioluminescent orb.
To buy your own bioluminescent organisms follow this link.
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